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This Week In Pac-10 Softball

CONFERENCE PLAY REACHES HALF-WAY MARKThe first half of Conference action is completed with Oregon State leading the Pac

The Pac-10 posts a 194-44 (.815) record over non-conference opponents this season. All eight Pac-10 teams are among the nation's best for the second consecutive week this season, as they rank in the Top-25 of the NFCA/USA Today Poll (as of Apr. 20). After the first half of the season, the Beavers lead the conference with a 10-2 conference record and 35-8 overall record, followed by Stanford at 8-3, 34-9. No. 4/2 ARIZONA and No. 24 ARIZONA STATE will pay a visit to the Oregon schools as they will take on No. 11/7 OREGON STATE and No. 25 OREGON this weekend. The Beavers have won 29 of their last 31 games and are off to their best start ever in Pac-10 action with a 10-2 record. No. 2/3 CALIFORNIA improved to 40-8 this week. The Bears and No. 7 STANFORD will travel to Seattle to face No. 23 WASHINGTON and then to Los Angeles to take on No. 10 UCLA. Washington freshman outfielder Lauren Greer has been named the Pacific-10 Conference Softball Player of the Week, and Oregon State's Brianne McGowan has been named Pitcher of the Week for April 19-25.

ARIZONAHead coach Mike Candrea won his 1,000th game at the helm of the Wildcats on Mar. 13, 2005 with a win over Miami-Ohio. He currently holds a record of 1015-197 over his 19 years at UA...The Wildcats swept the two-game series against Arizona State on April 22 (3-1) and on April 23 (10-3)...Junior pitcher Alicia Hollowell won her 100th career game with the victory over No. 3 California on April 2. Hollowell is 22-5 on the year as UA moved up to third in the Pac-10 race with an overall mark of 33-6 and 7-4 in Pac-10 play...SO Caitlin Lowe led the Wildcats offensively, going 4-for-6 last weekend, which included two triples during the second game against the Sun Devils. She also had three runs scored and added two RBI...Arizona will travel to the northwest to take on No. 25 Oregon on Friday and No. 11 Oregon State on Saturday and Sunday.

ARIZONA STATEWith 559 wins, head coach Linda Wells has the most victories all-time in ASU's 39-year history, surpassing coaching legend Mary Littlewood's 536...Freshman pitcher Katie Burkhart has already made a name for herself. She has notched 11 wins, including a no-hitter, a combined no-hitter with six shutouts and a Pac-10 leading four saves on the season...The Sun Devils dropped two games on April 22 (3-1) and on April 23 (3-0) against the Wildats...Junior pitcher Desiree Serrano is having her best season with a team-leading 10-6 record. She has posted two shutouts with a 2.02 ERA and 103 strikeouts. Serrano currently ranks third all-time on ASU's charts in career strikeouts with 537 and is ninth all-time with 44 victories...The Sun Devils will travel to Oregon to face No. 11 Oregon State on Friday and No. 25 Oregon on Saturday and Sunday.

CALIFORNIAThe Bears improve to 40-8 on the season and 7-5 in Pac-10 action. In non-conference play, the Bears downed Sacramento State, 3-1 and 5-0 in a doubleheader on April 13...JR Kristina Thorson led the Bears on the mound against the Cardinal. In 12.2 innings of work, she gave up five runs, none of which were earned, added 10 strikeouts and allowed only two walks. On the season, Thorson is 18-4 and leads Cal with a 1.11 ERA, 169 strikeouts and 21 walks...The Bears will travel to Los Angeles on Friday to face the No. 10-ranked Bruins and then head to Seattle to play No. 23 Washington on Saturday and Sunday.

OREGONThird year head coach Kathy Arendson won her 100th game at the helm of the Ducks with the 3-1 victory over UCLA on April 2. Oregon is 27-18 overall and posts a 3-9 Pac-10 record this season...The Ducks dropped two games against in-state rival Oregon State on April 24 in a doubleheader (1-0 and 2-1)...Last weekend, the Ducks were led on the mound by JR Amy Harris and FR Alicia Cook. The two pitchers combined to allow just six hits while striking out 11 in the doubleheader loss. Offensively, FR Lovena Chaput led the Ducks going 2-for-5 with one walk and one RBI...Oregon will host No. 4 Arizona on Friday and No. 24 Arizona State on Saturday and Sunday.

OREGON STATEAfter the first half of the season, the Beavers lead the conference with a 10-2 conference record and 35-8 overall. Oregon State went 4-0 last week defeating Saint Mary's on April 20, 7-1 and 8-0, defeating San Jose State 3-1 and 3-0 on April 21. OSU then won the Civil War series against Oregon on April 24, 1-0 and 2-1 in a doubleheader...SO Brianne McGowan did not allow a single run to score in 22.2 innings of work last week. On the week, she tallied 25 strikeouts in five appearances, threw three complete games and recorded two shutouts. She raised her overall record to 29-4 on the season, breaking the OSU single-season record for victories. McGowan was named USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week for the week of April 4-10...The Beavers have won 29 of their last 31 games and are off to their best start ever in Pac-10 action with a 10-2 record...OSU will host No. 24 Arizona State on Friday and No. 4 Arizona on Saturday and Sunday.

STANFORDThe No. 8-ranked Cardinal went 2-1 last week, improving their record to 34-9 overall and 7-3 in Pac-10 play. Stanford won the first two games of the Bay Area rival between the Cardinal and the Bears on April 22 (6-4) and on April 23 (2-1). Stanford dropped the third game against the Bears 1-0 on April 24...JR Catalina Morris led the Cardinal on the offensive attack hitting .529 (9-of-17) last week. On the week, she had six RBI, scored five runs and had one double and two home runs...JR Laura Severson picked up two Cardinal wins as she went 2-0 with a 1.27 ERA in 11 innings of work. She also held opponents to a .194 average at the plate...Stanford will host Saint Mary's for a non-conference game on Tuesday before traveling to Seattle to take on No. 23 Washington on Friday. The Cardinal will then travel to Los Angeles to face No. 10 UCLA on Saturday and Sunday.

UCLAThe Bruins split with No. 23 Washington last weekend. UCLA won the first game 4-3 on April 22 but dropped the second game 2-1 on April 23...SO Jodi Legaspi hit .500, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and a 1.250 slugging percentage. She hit a grand slam home run in the victory on Friday to account for all four of the Bruins' runs...With the 3-0 win over UC Riverside on Feb. 2, head coach Sue Enquist became the 21st NCAA softball coach and 12th active Division I coach with 800 career victories. She currently carries a record of 818-157-1...The Bruins will have a tough weekend ahead as they host No. 2 California on Friday and No. 7 Stanford on Saturday and Sunday.

WASHINGTONUW improved to 4-6 in Pac-10 play and 24-15 overall. The Huskies split a pair of games with UCLA, dropping the first on April 22, 4-3 but rebounded to win the second game on April 23, 2-1...FR Caitlin Noble went 2-1 last week including a 2-1 upset win over No. 10 UCLA and a 14-0 win over Nevada. Noble struck out 22 batters in 18.2 innings and allowed just two earned runs. She held the Bruins to one run on April 23 with eight strikeouts and notched her fifth shutout of the season against Nevada. Noble held the Wolf Pack to just four hits over five innings with 10 strikeouts. It marked Noble's ninth double-figure strikeout performance of the season...FR Lauren Greer led all players with a .667 average, going 8-for-12 from the plate with five runs scored and four RBI. Greer hit the game-winning home run against UCLA on April 22 with a two-run shot to left field. She followed up that performance with a 4-for-6 showing against Nevada in a doubleheader on April 24. Greer went 4-for-6 with two doubles, a walk, a home run and three runs against Nevada...The Huskies will host No. 7 Stanford on Friday and No. 2 California on Saturday and Sunday.